Friday, February 22, 2013

Cool GADGET- 'DoorBot' lets homeowners answer the door from anywhere !!

DoorBot gives buyers a door device and a smartphone/tablet app to let them control who gets in their house from wherever they please. (Photo: Edison Junior)
           
Homeowners can soon answer the door and even unlock it for visitors simply by checking their smartphone or tablet. A "DoorBot" designed for answering the door remotely has successfully hit its $250,000 funding goal on a new crowd-funding website.
 
The $189 invention, from the company Edison Junior, allows people to see and communicate with visitors without being at home — a feature that has attracted $282,000 in funding so far. A special $339 bundle that includes a separate "Lockitron" device, from the company Apigy, adds the ability to remotely unlock the door and share virtual keys with friends and family through a downloadable DoorBot app for smartphones and tablets.
 
"Mechanically, Lockitron is a very simple device in that it just turns the lock, but its brains are actually pretty powerful in that it can communicate locally with your phone as well as over the Web," said Cameron Robertson, a co-founder of Apigy.
 
The announcement of DoorBot's funding success on Christie Street — a new rival of Kickstarter focused on hardware — came on January 24th.  But Robertson previously spoke with TechNewsDaily during the Consumer Electronics Showcase in Las Vegas in January.
 
Lockitron and DoorBot offer homeowners a new level of control over access to their home from their mobile devices, Robertson explained. Landlords can issue virtual keys to tenants. A homeowner at work could remotely unlock the door after talking with the deliveryman outside, or simply take his or her  smartphone on a jog and leave the keys at home.
 
Best yet...if your DoorBot is stolen, they will replace it for free!!  How's that for customer service. 

Thursday, February 21, 2013

TEN things you can do to boost your BYOD security

To everything there is a season and this is the season of BYOD. Bring your own device isn't a particularly new phenomenon but it certainly is hotter now than ever before.
tablets-workers-byod


People have always smuggled in their own laptops and mobile devices into corporate networks. There's always a sympathetic IT guy around who will help the wayward BYOD renegade get setup to use corporate assets. But these days, it's a thing. You're now in the minority if you don't bring your own device into your corporate network. Some companies post FAQs on how to setup your chosen device to download email, connect to the VPN and to share documents with other users.

The one thing that's lacking in all this BYOD goodness is security. Security breaches aren't as rare as they used to be. The spread of malware has made sure that absolutely no one is immune and no platform is safe from malware hell. Windows users know this all too well. Android users are finding out quickly what it means to be paranoid about security. Apple users, once isolated from widespread malware attacks are now also on the receiving end of the security badness that affects us all.

If you think you're safe, you're wrong. If you think that you haven't been compromised in some way, you're probably also wrong. Security problems plague companies of all sizes and configurations

But you aren't helpless. Far from it. There are things you can do to minimize your attack surface--other than unplugging or going analog, that is. In fact, there are ten things that you can do to boost your BYOD security. This list of ten is in no particular order, except for the first one, which should be first on your list
  1. Hire a security consultant who has mobile device security experience - 92% of all security breaches are discovered by third parties. A good security consultant will not only audit your security but he will also find any compromises that you may know nothing about.
  2. Setup MDM/MAM software to manage mobile devices and security - Mobile device management and mobile application management software is very sophisticated and can manage your security in very fine detail. Since there are so many different MDM/MAM vendors, get some recommendations from other companies and security consultants. Watch for a post on selecting MDM/MAM software coming soon.
  3. Require VPN connectivity for all devices - Requiring a secure connection into your network is standard practice. If it isn't in your company, make it so. Your security consultant should be able to guide you in selecting the VPN hardware and software that's right for you.
  4. Require device passwords - In what should be a "duh" moment, you'd be surprised how many people don't use basic password protection for their devices. If you don't know how to setup a device password, ask a teenager, they all know how to do it.
  5. Require device encryption - Before users store or access corporate data on their devices, they must use encryption software. Generally speaking, you can choose between data or device encryption. Data encryption means that any corporate data that you download to your device is stored encrypted. If you encrypt your device's storage, then anything that lands on the device will be encrypted. The difference is at the app level or at the device level. For example, you can store an encrypted file on an unencrypted filesystem or store a file (encrypted or unencrypted) on an encrypted filesystem. Either method has its strengths and weaknesses.
  6. Require anti-malware software - This is another almost obvious recommendation. You wouldn't setup a new laptop without antivirus software and you shouldn't setup a new mobile device without some sort of antimalware software. In fact, your MDM/MAM suite should check for antimalware software and either deny access for those devices without it or make a mandatory installation of corporate-approved antimalware software.
  7. Implement ACLs and Firewalls - Access Control Lists and Firewalls might sound complex but they aren't. Again, a good security consultant can get you setup or train your staff to lock down access to your valuable data and files.
  8. Audit data files - Your most valuable files should be audited. To audit a file means that any access to the file is logged. This includes automated access by service accounts or other processes such as SFTP.
  9. Setup alerts on logfiles - Related to #8. You should setup alerts on audit logs, system logs and event logs to notify security of any unauthorized or suspicious access attempts on files, shares or accounts. Often hackers will remove logfiles in an attempt to cover their activities. Checking for the existence of the logfile will alert you to this type of behavior as well.
  10. Limit app downloads to a single trusted site or internal app store - Legitimate app stores have some sort of rigorous approval process for apps. Part of the process is checking for malware. Some sites don't check or check as thoroughly as they should. Your best defense is to whitelist approved app stores for your users or to create your own internal app store from which your corporate users may select apps to use.
97% of all security breaches are preventable by employing basic (passwords, antimalware software) or intermediate (Firewalls, VPNs) practices. There's no excuse for allowing any low-hanging fruit to exist in your network. Regular security sweeps and audits will provide you with feedback on your status. Remember that the best security defense is that third party security consultant.

BYOD shouldn't be something to be afraid of. It should be something that's done to enhance a work environment. But don't let security issues destroy a good thing like BYOD. Do your part by educating your users and getting a good security consultant to assist you.

What do you think? Do you have other suggestions to help with BYOD security? Talk back and let TURNkey know.

Monday, February 18, 2013

BYOD?? What does that mean?

Is your staff bringing their own devices and gadgets to the workplace? There are pros and cons that you need to know before you decide to adopt this practice for your business.


You may have noticed more and more of your employees or colleagues bringing their own computing devices to work—be it their mobile phone, tablet, or laptop. Or perhaps in your company or in other companies you may have seen, they have let people decide which device they prefer because they are used to it at home. You may not realize it, but this is all part of a large trend called the "consumeriztaion of IT", in which the influence of consumer technology is being increasingly felt in the workplace. With the wide availability of cheap but powerful mobile devices and online services, a growing number of people are being exposed to the latest technology at home first—adopting them at a rate faster than most businesses are able to manage. This flips on its head the old paradigm in which traditionally new technologies would be rolled out to businesses first, before they would find their way to consumers.

This trend, plus the increasing sophistication of young workers today and their frustration with the tools available to them at the office, is pushing some companies to adopt a "bring your own device" or BYOD policy at work. They are not alone. According to research by technology group Garner,  end users, not the IT department, will soon be responsible for 50 percent of business IT procurement decisions—ultimately bringing and running their own systems on company networks. Meanwhile, according to management consultants Accenture, around one-third of today's younger generation of workers (a group called "millenials") not only wants to use the computer of their choice at work, but also wants control of the applications they use too.

The benefits companies cite to adopting a BYOD policy are many, among them:
  • Savings on capital expenses and training costs in using company equipment—compensating employees instead via other means such as flexible work hours, subsidized purchases, insurance, and other benefits.
  • Less management headache—effectively letting employees decide what to use releases the company from some overhead and management responsibilities.
  • Improved employee satisfaction—by giving employees the freedom to use devices and applications that they prefer.
However, before you consider letting employees bring their own personal technology to the work place, be aware that there are also disadvantages, and sometimes very real dangers in doing so. These include:
  • Non-standardization of hardware, operating systems, and applications. If your business operations require that some equipment is integrated with others, then BYOD can in the long run actually increase IT management costs and decrease efficiency.
  • Exposing your network to malware or security vulnerabilities and breaches. When your employees bring their own devices to work, you lose important control over their security. Consumer devices often don't employ comparable bullet-proof security technologies mandated by businesses.
  • Leakage of confidential or proprietary information. Employees will naturally do what they want with the data on their devices, even if it doesn't belong to them, or it's against company policies. Employees can also lose precious company data when they misplace or damage their personal devices.
  • Lower economies of scale in procurement. Essentially because everyone is buying devices on their own, you miss out on the chance to consolidate purchases and lower purchase costs for everybody.
Have you adopted a BYOD policy at work? Thinking about it? Worried about this trend? If you need to understand BYOD better so you can define a policy for your staff, contact us at TURNkey IT and see how we can help.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

COOL GADGET!! - Take awesome photos with the Olloclip for your iPhone.


Olloclip Is The Only iPhone Lens You’ll Ever Need [Review]
When I bought my first iPhone last month, there was one accessory I knew I wanted – the Olloclip lens.

I have been playing with this review unit for a couple weeks now and it’s just as great as I expected, although there are one or two things I don’t like. Let’s take a look…

Olloclip Is The Only iPhone Lens You’ll Ever Need [Review]

The Olloclip is actually three lenses, all contained in a little clip which slips over the corner of your iPhone and puts one of those lenses in front of the camera. You get a fisheye and a wide-angle, and if you unscrew the wide-angle there’s a macro lens underneath.

Both main lenses have their ow plastic caps, and you can keep the Olloclip in your pocket or in the little fabric bag which comes with it.

The Good

The reason the iPhone is the most popular camera, like, ever is that it’s always ready to use. And now, with the slide-to-shoot shortcut on the home screen, it’s even faster. So any accessory has to be eqaully quick to deploy.

And speed is where the Olloclip shines. I ditched the little drawstring bag for a Velcro-backed pouch that came with one of my camera bags, so I can keep the Olloclip permanently to hand just inside my murse. I just grab it, slide it onto the corner of the iPhone, pop off the lens cap and I’m shooting.

Olloclip Is The Only iPhone Lens You’ll Ever Need [Review]

Compare this to sticking magnetic rings onto your iPhone and struggling with individual lenses and the difference is huge. The Olloclip automatically lines up with the iPhone’s camera thanks to its design, and switching sides is as easy as whipping it off, turning it around, pausing for a second in confusion and sliding it back on.

The results are also good – if you remember you’re adding cheap glass to the front of the iPhone’s carefully-crafted lens, that is.

And finally, for shooting video the Olloclip is all but essential. The video app crops in on the center of the camera’s sensor, presumably to allow for the iPhone 5’s great image stabilization. But this means that you’er often way too close to your subject. Clip on the Olloclip’s wide lenses and things open back up again.

The Bad

There’s not much not to like. The tight grip of the clip on the iPhone makes me think that it’ll scratch the iPhone’s lens as it slides on and off, but that fear appears to be unfounded.

The lens caps are also a little annoying: easy to lose, easy to knock off in a pocket and tiny. To be fair, this is a problem with all lens caps ever. I solve the problem with my little yellow pouch, which lets me keep the lens safe, and without the lens caps: I just don’t bother with them.

And that’s it. Like I said, this thing is almost perfect. No, it doesn’t have a telephoto lens. And no, it doesn’t work with a case, but that’s what design is about – compromise. And the folks at Olloclip made some smart decisions when designing this little dongle.

The Verdict

If you’re a fan of the previous iPhone 4/S Olloclip, you’ll be familiar with this one. It does the same thing in a slightly slimmer package.

If you’re looking to buy a new lens for your new iPhone, this should be at the top of your list unless a) you always use a case or b) you need a telephoto lens. If so, there are other options (including a case with a removable telephoto lens!) which you should research.

Is the Olloclip worth the $70 asking price? If you’re in the market for an accessory lens, then the answer is “hell yes.”

Sunday, February 10, 2013

COOL GADGET!! Stick-N-Find

So are you like me and always misplacing your car keys or phone throughout your day? If you suffer from this affliction, you may want to take a look at the Stick-N-Find Bluetooth-powered ultra small location stickers from a start up project on the indiegogo web site.



The Stick-N-Find location stickers are about the size and thickness of a quarter .  You stick them to your items that you can track via an app on your Apple iOS or Android device. The Stick-N-Find not only allows you to track it by Bluetooth, but it also has a built-in buzzer and light to allow you to hear and see the item you are looking for, even at night. The range on the Stick-N-Find is approximately 100 feet, and the battery should last for a year.


The Stick-N-Find software packages offer some unique and useful features, such as the “radar screen” that will help you find your lost item. The “leash” feature allows you to set an alert if an your tagged item is beyond a proximity distance set by you. The “find it” feature lets you know when a missing item is in range of the device you are using to track it. The software for the Stick-N-Find will allow you to track up to 20 devices at one time, but it is limited to the Bluetooth 4.0 standard.

Friday, February 8, 2013

HOW TO: Make a Mini Movie Theater With Your iPhone



Product: MiLi Power Projector 2 pico projector

Price: $399.95

What It's Good For: Portability, easy set up and decent picture quality.

Who It’s Good For: Anyone who wants to share his iPhone's video content with a group or see it larger.

Limitations: It's not a cheap gadget.

Bottom Line: The MiLi Power Projector 2 offers iPhone owners a fun way to watch and share video.

 

A Look at the MiLi Power Projector 2

The second-gen MiLi Power Projector boasts a few improvements on the first. It has shed a good few inches of bulk, boasts better 2.5-hour battery life and now has a fanless design for near-silent operation. Offering a fun way to view video content larger and with a group of others, we were interested to test it out.

Setting up the projector is easy. Once you've charged it via mini USB, just open it, pop out the stand, stick your iPhone on the built-in Apple dock, and it recognizes the input right away. You can tweak brightness and contrast in the menu using the remote control, while the volume control and the focus wheel are on the projector itself.

MiLi claims a projection area of up to 70- inches, but you do have to consider that the further away the projector is from the wall, the less bright the image will be. We found a sweet spot of size and brightness to be around 40 inches, which is obviously much larger than the iPhone's display and a decent size to watch a movie.

In a dark room, the image quality was good. The projector only boasts a VGA resolution, so you're not going to see the nuances and details you might be used to on your big screen TV, but it's not a replacement for that — it's a fun and very portable way to share video from your iPhone or iPOD touch.

We feel the pico projector's novelty value doesn't necessarily outweigh the high cost, but we were impressed with the gadget and can recommend it to anyone who can afford to splash out.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Is E-Mail Archiving Important?

Email has become the accepted form of communication in business. Market researcher, Gartner Group, conducted a study and found that almost 97% of all business communication was via email. Another survey by Osterman Research found that 79% of all businesses now accept emails as written confirmation of approvals or orders. This means that emails form part of companies' records and must be stored for the same time period that written records would be stored for. In fact, up to 83% of a business's critical data can be found in its email. 


The primary function of  archiving is to extract message contents and attachments from incoming and outgoing emails. It indexes them and stores them in a read-only format, which ensures that they are recorded and maintained in their original state.

One of the benefits of archiving emails is that it creates more space on the mail server. Emails are stored in a compressed format, on a local hard drive which saves a huge amount of disk space for users, not to mention keeps your email program running smoothly.  Developing an archiving standard operating procedure (SOP) can make accessing the information a much easier task than it would ordinarily be.

A business's email system serves as a repository for industry knowledge and email archiving is of considerable importance to the modern business environment.  Archiving allows you to store emails in their original form, in a manner that can't be tampered with.  Developing a SOP that outlines the archiving procedure and retrieval process should be created so that you can retrieve emails easily.

So is email archiving important?  Absolutely!!  

TURNkey IT can handle this procedure and many technical issues with ease.  Call us at 866-928-8208 to learn more about our group.



Monday, February 4, 2013

Assistive and Adaptive Technology - PART 1 of a 5 part series.

Much emphasis on the information we provide has to obviously relate to technology.  In this 5 Part series, TURNkey IT will be showcasing technology that helps individuals with disabilities.  This week will focus on educating our clients on technologies that are available for different types of challenges.

PART I: Types of Assistive Technology


FOR VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS:

SCREEN ENLARGERS (or screen magnifiers) work like a magnifying glass. They enlarge a portion of the screen, increasing the legibility for some users. Some screen enlargers allow a person to zoom in and out on a particular area of the screen. Screen readers are software programs that present graphics and text as speech. For a computer user who is blind, and does not need a monitor, a screen reader is used to verbalize, or "speak," everything on the screen including names and descriptions of control buttons, menus, text, and punctuation. In essence, a screen reader transforms a graphic user interface (GUI) into an audio interface.

SPEECH RECOGNITION SYSTEMS, also called voice recognition programs, allow people to give commands and enter data using their voices rather than a mouse or keyboard. Voice recognition systems use a microphone attached to the computer, which can be used to create text documents such as letters or e-mail messages, browse the Internet, and navigate among applications and menus by voice. Speech recognition systems are also used by people with language and learning disabilities who have difficulty typing or reading text.

SPEECH SYNTHESIZERS receive information going to the screen in the form of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks, and then "speak" it out loud. Often referred to as text-to-speech (TTS), the voice of the computer is synthesized speech—a distinctive, sometimes monotone voice that is the joining together of preprogrammed letters and words. Using speech synthesizers allows blind users to review their input as they type. Speech synthesizers are also used by people with language and learning impairments, for example, those who are unable to communicate orally.

REFRESHABLE BRAILLE displays provide tactile output of information represented on the computer screen. A Braille "cell" is composed of a series of dots. The pattern of the dots and various combinations of the cells are used in place of letters. Refreshable Braille displays mechanically lift small rounded plastic or metal pins as needed to form Braille characters. The user reads the Braille letters with his or her fingers, and then, after a line is read, can refresh the display to read the next line. 
          
BRAILLE EMBOSSERS transfer computer generated text into embossed Braille output. Braille translation programs convert text scanned in or generated via standard word processing programs into Braille, which can be printed on the embosser. Talking and large-print word processors are software programs that use speech synthesizers to provide auditory feedback of what is typed. Large-print word processors allow the user to view everything in large text without added screen enlargement. Individuals with learning disabilities often use these special-featured word processors to assist them with their spelling and grammar and/or to provide the auditory feedback they require to be able to write.




FOR MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS

ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD PROGRAMS provide an image of a standard or modified keyboard on the computer screen. The user selects the keys with a mouse, touch screen, trackball, joystick, switch, or electronic pointing device. On-screen keyboards often have a scanning option. With the scanning capability turned on, the individual keys on the on-screen keyboard are highlighted. When a desired key is high-lighted, an individual with a mobility impairment is able to select it by using a switch positioned near a body part that is under his or her voluntary control.

KEYBOARD FILTERS include typing aids such as word prediction utilities and add-on spelling checkers. These products reduce the required number of keystrokes. Keyboard filters enable users to quickly access the letters they need and to avoid inadvertently selecting keys they don't want. Keyboard filters—especially word prediction and spelling checkers—are also used by people with language and learning impairments.

TOUCH SCREENS are devices placed on the computer monitor (or built into it) that allow direct selection or activation of the computer by touching the screen. These devices can benefit some users with mobility impairments because they present a more accessible target. It is easier for some people to select an option directly rather than through a mouse movement or keyboard because that movement might require greater fine motor skills than simply touching the screen to make a selection. 

Other people with mobility impairments might make their selections with assistive technology such as mouth sticks. Touch screens are also used by people with language and learning impairments who find it a more simple, direct, and intuitive process than making a selection using a mouse or keyboard.


ALTERNATIVE INPUT DEVICES allow individuals to control their computers through means other than a standard keyboard or pointing device. Examples include:
  • Alternative keyboards —those with larger- or smaller-than-standard keys or keyboards, alternative key configurations, and keyboards for use with one hand.
  • Electronic pointing devices—used to control the cursor on the screen using ultrasound, an infrared beam, eye movements, nerve signals, or brain waves.
  • Sip-and-puff systems—activated by the user's breath.
  • Wands and sticks—used to strike keys on the keyboard (usually worn on the head, held in the mouth, strapped to the chin).
  • Joysticks—manipulated by hand, feet, chin, etc. and used to control the cursor on screen.
  • Trackballs—movable balls on top of a base that can be used to move the cursor on screen.


FOR LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS

SCREEN REVIEW UTILITIES make on-screen information available as synthesized speech and pairs the speech with a visual representation of a word, for example, highlighting a word as it is spoken. Screen review utilities convert the text that appears on screen into a computer voice. This helps some people with language impairments. Some individuals with learning impairments find speech recognition easier to use for writing text. Additional assistive technology products used with computers by people with language impairments also include others which are defined above:
  • Keyboard filters
  • Speech recognition programs
  • Touch screens
  • Speech synthesizers            

FOR LEARNING IMPAIRMENTS

WORD PREDICTION PROGRAMS allow the user to select a desired word from an on-screen list located in the prediction window. This list, generated by the computer, predicts words from the first one or two letters typed by the user. The word can then be selected from the list and inserted into the text by typing a number, clicking the mouse, or scanning with a switch. These programs help users increase vocabulary skills through word prompting. 
          
READING COMPREHENSION PROGRAMS focus on establishing or improving reading skills through ready-made activities, stories, exercises, or games. These programs can help users practice letter sound recognition and can increase the understanding of words by adding graphics, sound, and possibly animation.
           
READING TOOLS AND LEARNING DISABILITIES PROGRAMS include software designed to make text-based materials more accessible for people who have difficulty with reading. Options can include scanning, reformatting, navigating, or speaking text out loud. These programs help people who have difficulty seeing or manipulating conventional print materials; people who are developing new literacy skills or who are learning English as a foreign language; and people who comprehend better when they hear and see text highlighted simultaneously.

Additional assistive technology products used with computers by people with learning impairments also include products defined above including:
  • Speech synthesizers
  • Speech recognition programs
  • Talking and large print word processors
For more information on how to implement these types of systems into your environment, visit TURNkey IT at www.turnkey.pro or call us at 866-928-8208.

Friday, February 1, 2013

You've got choices when it comes to cloud storage!

Now that many millions of people have multiple computing devices — laptops, tablets, smartphones — it can be a real pain to make sure you have the document or file you need on the device you’re using at any one time. And if you’re trying to share those documents to collaborate on a project, emailing can quickly become confusing, especially if they are frequently edited or annotated.



A number of services are battling it out to act as trusted online repositories for important documents that can be accessed on all your computers and devices, and shared with others. Some even go beyond file storage to include built-in editing and collaboration tools that live on remote servers instead of on devices. In Silicon Valley, this is considered one form of the big trend called cloud computing.

For some time I've been testing some of the leading online file storage and sharing services. I didn’t try to pick a winner, since they all worked fine for me. And I didn’t do an in-depth review of them. Instead, my aim here is just to explain the category and highlight some of the key competitors. I compared their main features and costs.

Overall, this type of service is useful for anyone with many computers and devices, either for personal or group use.

I chose to look at four of the best-known services aimed primarily at consumers: Dropbox, SugarSync, Microsoft SkyDrive and Google Drive.

Most of these services work in basically the same way. They establish a special folder on your computer and install a small program to monitor that folder. Any file you place in that folder is synchronized with a similar special folder on any other computer where you’ve installed the program, as well as with a virtual hard disk stored on a remote server that’s accessible via a Web browser or a mobile app.

If a file saved to the special folder is changed in one place, that change is replicated everywhere else. So the files are both backed up in multiple places and synced. All the services work on both Windows and Mac and on both Apple and Android-powered mobile devices. Each offers a teaser amount of free storage online for these files and then charges for storing more, at various amounts. For simplicity, I compared their annual fees for a 100-gigabyte account, more than enough for most average folks.

Each of the contenders claims to be secure and requires a password, but, like everything on the Internet, there is no way to be absolutely certain their security is impregnable.
Dropbox
This service from a small company, Dropbox Inc., is the best known, and simplest, of the bunch. It also claims to be the most popular. You can share individual files via links you can email or post online that will bring up the file in a browser. You also can create shared folders to which you can give access to others. Dropbox also can be set to automatically import photos from cameras or smartphones. But it has the stingiest free-storage offer — just 2 gigabytes — and is relatively costly, charging $99 for a 100-gigabytes plan.
SugarSync
Also from a small company, SugarSync Inc., and well-established, this service has a feature called Magic Briefcase that is similar to Dropbox. But its big advantage is that it doesn’t require this special folder. Instead, it can synchronize and back up online your existing folder structure, so you don’t have to remember to place important files in the special folder.

For instance, it can keep your pictures folders on a Windows and Mac computer in sync, and make the photos available online or through a mobile app. It also allows you to share files with others. But linking all these folders can be complicated, which is why SugarSync is preparing a radical overhaul to simplify the process. It is also the costliest of the services I compared. While it offers 5 gigabytes free, a 100-gigabyte account costs $150 a year.
SkyDrive
Microsoft’s contender offers the most free storage of this group — 7 gigabytes — and the lowest price for 100 gigabytes, just $50 a year. This month, it will roll out a revamped user interface and a companion Android app similar to its existing Apple mobile app. But its biggest advantage is that it is deeply integrated with the world’s most popular document-creation tool, Microsoft Office, on both Windows and Mac. It features a stripped-down, but capable, online version of Office that works in any browser. And any file you store on SkyDrive can be edited in your computer’s local copy of Office, if it’s a recent version, at the push of a button. You can also save files directly to SkyDrive from Office on your computer.
Google Drive
This relatively new service wraps storage and synchronization around Google’s online productivity suite, Google Docs. So, like SkyDrive, it features built-in editing and collaboration, though it can’t directly edit Microsoft Office files, which must first be converted to Google’s formats. It also offers numerous third-party apps, like one for drawing diagrams. The service offers 5 gigabytes free, and charges just $60 a year for 100 gigabytes — almost as little as SkyDrive.

Again, all of these services worked for me. But you might prefer, say, SkyDrive, for its bigger free storage, and tie-in to Microsoft Office; or SugarSync, for its ability to work with your existing folders. You can try several before deciding. It costs nothing to give them a test drive.

We are TURNkey IT, a firm that believes that you should have all the bells and whistles that the big boys have.  Call us at 866-928-8208 or email us at info@turnkey.pro to see what the fuss is about.